Punching and die mechanism for the production of mica washers



Oct. 24, 1950 R. A. CARRIER, JR., r-:rAL 2,527,091

PUNCHING AND DIE MECHANISM FOR THE PRODUCTION 0F MICA WASHERS l FiledFeb. 2, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 V BY C- 24, 1950 R. A.YcARR|ER, JR., Erm.2,527,091

PUNcHmG AND DIE uEcHANIsu Fon 'ma PRODUCTION oF MICA wAsmsRs Filed' Feb.2, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ralph A. Carr/er, Jr.

Dreyfus 6. Dov/fsr JNVENToRs BY @um Patented Oct. 24, 1.950

PUNCHING AND DIE MECHANSM Fon Tini PRODUCTION or MICA wAsHERs Ralph A.Carrier, Jr., Getton, and Dreyfus C.

Davis, OteeIi, N.

C., assignors td Asheville Mica Company, Asheville, N. C., a corporationApplication February 2, 1948, Serial No. 5,775

Claims.

This invention relates to punch and die mechanisms operable inconjunction with a punching press and it has more particularreference'to mechanisms of this type used for producing mica washers. Itis the general object of the invention to provide a punch and diemechanism by means of which an increased production of washers may beobtained and by means of which the same mechanism with small changes isadapted to produce washers of a large variety of sizes and with alldiameters of the central hole.

A main object of the invention consists in providing means wherebyadaptation of the same mechanism for diierent sizes may be obtained bymaking a very small number of parts exchangeable and by providing meansfor making these parts easily removable.

A further object of the invention consists in providing means wherebymultiple cutting can take place, with a large variety of diameters ofthe washers and of the central holes.

A further and more specic object of the invention consists in providingmeans whereby, with one die of a given size, washers with a largevariety of inside diameters may be cut.

A further and more specic object of thek in-r vention consists inproviding a die in which the blanking punches as well as the piercingpunches may be readily replaced by other punches of different size.

A still further and more specic object of the invention consists inproviding a guard or pro' tective device surrounding the movable partsso closely that the operator may bring his hand safely into proximitytothe reciprocating parts of the machine, while placing the work sheetin position. This allows a largely increased production and theproduction of washers from smaller and less expensive mica sheets.

Further objects will be made apparent in the course of the followingdetailed description of the invention.

The inventive concept is capable ofbeing embodied into differentconstructions, but in the drawing only one such construction is shown byway of example. It is to be understood that this example has beenselected in order to explain the principle of the invention `and thebest mode of applying such principle, but does not supply a survey offurther possible modes of application. Modifications of the exampleshown do therefore not necessarily constitute a departure from theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a punch and die mechanism.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the mechanism, with the punch holder removed.

Figure 3 is an elevational sectional view of the mechanism, the sectionbeing taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional plan View, the section being taken along line4-4 of Figure '1.

Figure 5 is another sectional plan View the section being taken alongline 5-5 oi Figure 1.

Figure 6 is another plan View which is however taken by looking upwardlyfrom line 6--5 of Figure 1 towards the die assembly.

Figure 'l is an exploded perspective view of the matrix die carryingbase and of the matrix dies.

Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of the parts connected with theupper die assembly.

The punch and die mechanism according to the invention may be associatedwith the standard mechanism operated with a standard press; only thoseparts of the known mechanisms are shown which are closely associatedwith the improvements according to the invention. In all other respectsit is assumed that the mechanism shown is connected with the usual typeof standard punch presses, and is operated in the well known manner.

In Figures 1 and 3, I0 indicates the stem of a punch holder Il which isadapted to be clamped into the ram of a punch press moving up and downor in any other direction, the vertical direction being selected for amore convenientf showing. The punch holder ll may be of any approvedconstruction and is movable by means of slide blocks ,l2 along thecolumns or spindles i4 which are mounted on the die shoe I6.

On said die shoe a split die base indicated generally at I8 is mountedconsisting of the two members I9, 20 which are held on the die shoe bymeans of screws 29 and dowels 2l. The die base I8 as a whole may be ofsubstantially circular shape. The two halves I9, 20 are semicircular andface eachother along parallel surfaces 23 across a gap. A number ofsubstantially semi-circular notches or recesses 22 are provided `in thetwo parallel surfaces which accommodate the lower portion of theblanking punches 24.

a grooved or restricted portion 21. They are provided with a centralcylindrical bore or hole i 28, which is substantially of the diameter ofthe piercing punches 30, near the cutting edges, but

is widened in the remaining portion of the blanking punches to allow thedisks cut out from the center of the washer to drop. Bores 3| in the dieshoe are arranged which correspond with the bores 28 and form dischargechannels for the said centers.

The blanking punches are held rmly within the notches or recesses 22,the lower portion of which accommodates and holds the widened footportion 26. The two members I 9 and 20 which are encircling the punchesare held in their relative position by means of clamping screws 33,shown in Figures and 7 and passing between the notches or recesses andthe punches at the height of the grooved portions 21 of the latter.Bores 34 for the passage of these clamping screws areshown in Figures5and7.

The split die base holding the punches and the die shoe, as will be seenfrom the above, are so rmly held together that they form a structuralunit.

Above the split die base a live rubber plate or ring is' located, uponwhichv the' stripper plate 36 rests. The stripper plate may be circularwith cylindrical holes or bores 31 closely surrounding the upperVportion of the blanking punches 24 carrying the cutting edges. Theupper surface of the stripping plate may be located slightly above theend faces of the blanking punches 24, as is customary with arrangementsof this type.

The female portion of the die is firmly held in the punch holder Il byVmeans of screws and dowels which are however not shown in Figure 3 ofthe drawing for the sake of clarity. It comprisesV the die member 40(Figure 8) which is of circular shape and is provided with an elongatedrecess 42 along one of its diameters, in its upper portion.v The lowerportion facing the die base or male die assembly is provided with thebores or openings 44 leading from the recess 42 to the outer (lower)surface ofthe die member where they cooperate with the cutting edges ofthe male punches 24.' Thenumber of bores 44 is equal to the number ofpunches used,

and these bores accommodate the knock out cylinders 45 of the ejector orshedde'r'mechanism of the die assembly. These cylinders arev providedwith central bores 46 through' which the piercing punches 3Uare'passing. The piercing punches 30 comprise an active'or'punchingportion held by a stem 48 whichV is xedly mounted on a piercing' punchplate 50. The punch plate is interchangeable so as to bring piercingpunches of different sizes into action. l

Behind the piercing punch plate 50 a backing plate 52is arranged fortransmitting the p'ressure to the assembly and for taking up theA forcesproduced by the shearing resistance of the material.

The backing plate 52 and"the piercing punch plate 50 are both providedwith aligned additional bores 54, 55 respectively, arranged in thelatter plate around the piercing punches. Through these bores knock outpins 55 are passing, which press on an elongated knock out plate 6Bresting on the upper surface of the knock out cylinders 45 and providedwith bores 6l. These pins on the other end, which is located above thebacking plate 52, are acted up'on by an elongated pressure equalizerplate 62 which may move within an elongated' recess 64 of the punchholder l l. The equalizer plate 62 is'rnoved within the recess 64 by theknock out rod 65'held by standard die presses.

Closely surrounding the entire female die assembly and ejector is aguard member 'l0 (Figures 1 and 2) which extends upwardly up to thepress stock and on the other side reaches down so far that only a smallslot 'l2 is left between it and the plane passing through the uppersurface of the stripper plate 36. The guard plate may be provided withslits o1' windows 14 permitting observation of the punching process; butotherwise the slot 'l2 is so small that merely the stock or work piecemay be inserted. The

guard plate is supported by posts 15 (Figures 2 and 6) which aresupported in the die shoe. The operator is thus fully protected even ifworking in the immediate vicinity of the press. The close surrounding ofthe die permits a close approach of the operator who may use his handssafely at a very short distance from the tools. In an arrangement ofthis type this leads to a greatly improved production and economy, as onaccount of certain irregularities of the sheet it is frequentlynecessary to place work sheets in certain positions to be selectedindividually to obtain good results. Sheets with defects orirregularities have therefore no longer to be discarded.

The operation of the mechanism need not be describedY in detail. It mayonly be mentioned that upon movement of the press head the female dieassembly mounted on the punch holder is moved against the male diemember assembly with the piercing punches 30 entering the bores 28 andthe blanking punches 24 cooperating with the cutting edges of the diemember 40 to form the blank. The stripping plate 36 is pressed down andthe rubber is compressed so that the blanking punches to a certainextent may enter into the bores of the female die member 40 thussevering the blanks from the stock. Upon return movement of thepress-head, the rubber expands the stripper plate and pushes the innersheet from which the washer disks have been removed upwardly. The blanksare still held on the upper part of the cutting portion of the piercingpunch. The knock out mechanism is now Working with the knock out rodpressing down on the equalizer plate and the knock out pins 55 pressingagainst the knock out plate 60. The plate presses the knock out cylinderdownwardly so asto eject or remove the washers from the piercingpunches.

.The mainvadv-antages of the construction, as above described, consistin the fact that the blanking and piercing punches are both readilyremoved without dificulty, the former by disconnecting the members ofthe split base I8 and the latter by removing the interchangeable punchplate 50. Washers of any size'and any central bore may thus be made onthe same punch and die mechanism on which merely certain parts areexchanged. It is possible, if merely the diameter ofthe central holevaries'fto continue operation after exchangingl the punches-in themanner indicated in Figure 7, an operation which is easy to performwithin a short time. Moreover the construction embodies a -multiplecutter which greatly increases the output. A main advantage also residesin the above-explained guard plate providing full'protection to theoperator without forcing him to keep ata distance from the tool. Thepress operator can therefore safely position smaller and cheaper orpartly' defective sheets of mica on the die for high speed operation.

The production is increased both on' account of the multiple die "and onaccount ofthe .closeness ofthe operator4 to the tool. v

. It will be clear that. constructive changes or variationsof anunessential'characterido not affect the invention.

. Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A punch and die mechanism for punching washers and similar articlescomprising a reciprocable punch holder, a female die assembly heldthereby, said assembly including a plurality of exchangeable diemembers, eachv provided with a piercing punch and an ejector mechanism,a die bed, a male die assembly, including a plurality of exchangeablevmale blanking punches and a split die base for holding said blankingpunches, said die base consisting of a plurality of members, holdingsaid punches pressed against said bed in operative parallel positionwhen joined together and a stripping plate surrounding the ends of saidblanking punches.

2. A punch and die mechanism for punching washers and similar articlescomprising a reciprocable punch holder, a female die assembly heldthereby, said assembly including a plurality of exchangeable diemembers, each provided with a piercing punch, an ejector mechanism, axed die shoe, a split die base consisting of two members facing eachother across a gap both adapted to be fixed on said die shoe, saidmembers being provided with a plurality of aligned recesses on the sidesfacing each other, a plurality of removable blanking punches adapted tobe placed into and to be held within the recesses of the two membersfacing each other and enclosing the lower part of said removableblanking punches, while the upper part of said punches project upwardly,therefrom and a stripping plate surrounding the projecting ends of saidblanking dies.

3. A punch and die mechanism for punching washers and similar articlescomprising a recprocable punch holder, a female die assembly heldthereby, said assembly including a plurality of exchangeable diemembers, each provided with a piercing punch and an ejector mechanism, axed die shoe, a split die base, consisting of at least two base membersxedly but removably connected with said die shoe, said members havingsurfaces facing each other across a gap, and being provided on thesurfaces facing each other with a plurality of cylindrical recesses,facing each other, adjustable clamping means for holding said basemember at a predetermined distance, removable cylindrical blankingpunches with cutting edges having enlarged foot portions, adapted to tinto the space between the cylindrical recesses of the two membersfacing each other, and to be xedly held therein along a part of theirlength with their end portions carrying the cutting edges projectingfrom the die base towards the female die assembly, and a stripping plateand a rubber base plate surrounding said projecting ends of the blankingpunches.

4. A punching press with a punch and die mechanism for punching washersand similar articles, comprising a stationary male die assembly, holdinga plurality of blanking punches, said assembly including a die shoe, asplit die base, consisting of at least two base members Xedly butremovably connected with said die shoe and with each other, said basemembers having surfaces facing each other across a gap, said surfacesbeing provided with cylindrical recesses adapted to fixedly hold saidexchangeable blanking punches, each blanking punch being provided with acentral hole, a reciprocating punch holder, adapted to carry anexchangeable female die assembly provided with a recess of a lengthsubstantially of the length ofthe exchangeable die assembly, the saiddie assembly including an exchangeable die member provided with aplurality of bores equally numbered to the number of blanking punchesand cooperating with the blanking punches of the male member, said diemember being further provided with an elongated recess above saidbores,a plurality of knock-out cylinders, each provided with a central bore,located in the bores of the die member, an elongated knock-out plate,arranged within the recess of the die member and pressing against saidcylinders, a piercing punch plate and a backing plate provided vwithholes, the holes in said plates being aligned, the die member, backingplate and piercing punch plate being held against each other and beingremovably xed on the punch holder covering the recess in the same,piercing punches held by and projecting from the Ipiercing punchpl-atethrough the recess of the die member and through the central bores ofthe knock-out member, knock-out pins acting on said knock-out platepassing through the aligned holes of the piercing punch plate and thebacking plate, an equalizer plate arranged in the recess of the punchholder behindthe backing plate and a knock-out rod, held in said punchholder and operated by the press.

5. In a punch and die mechanism the improvement comprising: a split diebase including a pair of members removably mounted on the die shoe ofthe mechanism, a plurality of notches in each of the members of thesplit die base, a plurality of exchangeable blanking punches mounted insaid notches of said die base, and means for holding said blankingpunches from vertical displacement.

6. The combination of claim 5 in which one of said members has one sidein juxtaposition to one side of the other of said members, and saidnotches being substantially semi-cylindrical and positioned along eachof said sides forming substantially cylindrical apertures for engagingthe periphery of said blanking punches.

'7. The combination of claim 6 in which the means for holding saidblanking punches from vertical displacement includes a widened footportion on said blanking punches adjacent to said die shoe, and groovemeans in said notches on said base members for cooperation with saidwidened foot portion.

8. The combination of claim 5 in which means are provided for clampingsaid die base members together, a rubber plate mounted on said basemembers and having apertures therein through which the upper ends of theblanking punches may extend, a stripper plate mounted on said rubberplate and having apertures therein in alignment with the apertures insaid rubber plate, the upper ends of said blanking punches beingreceived in the apertures of said stripper plate, and a portion of saidstripper plate lying above the plane of the upper surfaces of saidblanking punches.

9. In a punch and die mechanism the improvement comprising: a split diebase including a pair of members removably mounted on the die shoe ofthe mechanism, a plurality of notches in each of the members of thesplit die base, a plurality of exchangeable blanking punches mounted insaid notches of said die base, and

anser/,0121i means for-holding saidl blanking punches fromI verticaldisplacement, and in which the split' die base is provided with aplurality of aperturesy therethrough, dowels mounted ini some of theapertures for positioning the base on the shoe and screws for securingthe base in position passing through others of said apertures, in whichone of said members has one side in juxtaposition to one side of theother of said members, and said notches being substantiallysemi-cylindrical and positioned along each of said sides formingsubstantially cylindrical apertures for engaging the periphery of saidblanking punches; in which the means for holding said blanking punchesfrom vertical displacement includes a widened foot portion on saidblanking punches adjacent to said die shoe, and groove means, in saidnotches on said base members for cooperation with said widened footportion.

10. In a punch and die mechanism the improvement comprising: a split diebase including a pair of membersV removably mounted on the die shoe ofthe mechanism, a plurality of notches in each of the members of thesplit die base, a plurality of exchangeable blanking punches mounted insaid notches of said die base, and means for holding said blankingpunches from vertical displacement; in which the means for holding saidblanking punches from vertical displacement includes a widened footportion on o said blanking punches adjacent to said die shoe, and groovemeans in said notches on said base members for cooperation with saidwidened foot portion; in which means are provided for clamping said diebase members together, a Vrubber plate mounted on said base members andhaving apertures therein through which the upper ends of. the blankingpunches may extend, a stripper plate mounted on said rubber plateand'having apertures-1 therein in alignment with the apertures in saidlrubber plate, the upper ends of said blanking punches being received inthe apertures of said stripper plate, and a portion of saidstripper'plate lying above the plane of the upper surfaces of saidblanking punches.

RALPH A. CARRIER, JR.

DREYFUS C. DAVIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED 'STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 507,260 Coleman Oct. 24, 1893679,699 Mason July 30, 1901 727,931 Fraser May 12, 1903 1,989,412Gruchacz Jan. 29, 1935 2,111,156 Schneider Mar. 15, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber `Country Date 215,517 Great Britain May 15, 1924

